Bulgaria bask in Group 3 triumph

Bulgaria have reached the UEFA European Under-19 Championship for the first time after victory against Iceland confirmed Mihail Madanski's side as the winners of Elite round Group 3.

Tsvetanov on target again
Both sides had taken maximum points from their first two matches in the section, although Bulgaria's superior goal difference meant only a point was required in Råde to book their place in the final tournament in the Czech Republic in July. In the event Bulgaria made the brighter start at the Råde Idrettspark Stadium and took the lead in the 30th minute when Momchil Tsvetanov broke the deadlock with his second goal of the mini-tournament.

Late excitement
Iceland, who were also bidding for a first finals, pushed strongly for a way back into the match but their hopes of finding the two goals needed to overhaul the Bulgarians suffered another setback when Hólmar Örn Eyjólfsson was dismissed with 13 minutes left. Atanas Zehirov doubled Bulgaria's advantage two minutes into added time and, although Iceland had the final word on the night through Gylfi Thor Sigurdsson's last-gasp penalty, it was their opponents who were celebrating at the final whistle. Bulgaria will now take their place in the finals draw on 1 June, with the other six finalists to be decided in the second half of this month.